Intermodal Transport, Sustainability, and Security Challenges in South Africa’s Automotive Logistics

Richter, Anikó and Hencz, Csaba I. (2026) Intermodal Transport, Sustainability, and Security Challenges in South Africa’s Automotive Logistics. In: FEJLŐDÉSI PÁLYÁK ÉS ÚJ TÖRÉSVONALAK A FENNTARTHATÓSÁGI ÁTMENET IDŐSZAKÁBAN : Nemzetközi tudományos konferencia a Magyar Tudomány Ünnepe alkalmából. Soproni Egyetem Kiadó, Sopron, pp. 296-306. ISBN 9789633345795

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Abstract

South Africa’s automotive industry is growing consistently, with OEMs such as BMW, Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen expanding production for export markets. This growth brings increasing pressure on logistics systems that continously struggle with port congestion, unreliable rail, and high levels of theft and vandalism. As logistics procurement manager responsible for South Africa region I am facing with challanges and pressure regarding the sustainability goals. This study investigates how these challenges affect sustainability targets and intermodal transport acceleration. Using secondary sources and concluded interviews with logistics professionals from the automotive industry in the region, we analyze cases from Transnet, DP World, DHL, DSV, and Kühne+Nagel. The study is based on four hypotheses: H1: using intermodal solutions is constrained by infrastructure inefficiencies; H2: theft and vandalism weaken cost-efficient and sustainable logistics; H3: OEMs investing in short-distance intermodal solutions with logistics partners to achieve stronger resilience; H4: sustainability initiatives in the South African region remain mostly symbolic rather than a real change. The findings of the study highlights the need of a collaborative approach between OEMs and forwarders which must be driven by investment, stronger security protocols, and systemic infrastructure reforms.

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